The University of Maine’s Club Lacrosse team is looking for some chemistry to build off as they enter the second half of the season. Despite an 0-4 start to 2013 and the program’s limited success since its inception in 2003, first year head coach John O’Connell is optimistic this year’s squad can establish some momentum for the program moving forward, after they beat the Owls of Southern Connecticut State University on Saturday.
O’Connell says it’s been tough for UMaine to establish a consistent lacrosse program, given the amount of turnover that comes along with being a club team. This year’s roster — the core of which is made up of 11 freshmen and five sophomores — features many new faces, making this first year coach’s task of building team chemistry that much harder.
“[The youth] definitely plays into it,” O’Connell said. “Seventeen or 18 players from last year’s team aren’t on the team this year. It’s tough because we haven’t had a lot of time for team chemistry and things like that because there’s so many new people, so many guys that weren’t here last year.
“We are a club team, so there are times where guys miss a practice here and there,” he added. “We have to have more of a commitment — which is tough at the club level — but you never know where it could be in a year or two.”
The Warner University alum said he’s needed to alter his expectations for the squad, given how difficult it is to build a consistent lacrosse program in this state.
“It’s definitely a tough, tough place to play because not a lot of high schools in Maine have lacrosse, and we play a lot of teams from New York and Connecticut [that do],” he said.
“It’s not an area where we have a lot of high school talent that’s coming in every year, and we’re in a tough league and we play a lot of good teams from New England and New York,” he continued. “So for me, I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect. My expectation [now] is to do the best we can do, take it one game at a time and try to win.”
O’Connell said he’s been able to rely on his four captains to carry the load for the Black Bears so far this season. UMaine is led by senior goaltender Cullen Finn, who features a 7.75 goals against average and a .708 save percentage; senior midfielder Nat Williams; sophomore defensive midfielder Henry Gibson; and sophomore defender Zach Yocum.
O’Connell says he will need more of the same from these four if the Black Bears hope to contain the Owls’ potent offensive attack led by sophomore midfielder Colmann Dobb — who has 13 points in three games this season — and freshman attacker Augie Bonadies.
The Black Bears have found the back of the net just 15 times in four games this season, something that will need to improve if they want to keep up with the more offensively gifted teams they face. O’Connell says he has been impressed by his team’s defense and goaltending so far, but that it will be tough to compete if they can’t score on a more regular basis.
“We need to score more. I feel like we can neutralize other teams with our defense, but the challenge will be [putting points on the board],” he said.
Both teams were looking for their first win of 2013 Saturday afternoon. Although the Black Bears are 2-0 all-time against the Owls — that includes their 16-3 victory last season — O’Connell said past meetings won’t be a factor this time around. The focus needs to be on establishing a positive trend for the second half of the season.
“[The mentality] needs to be, wipe the slate clean and think of it as, not a new season, but ‘Part B’ of the season,” he said. “That needs to be our frame of mind. Take one game at a time and do whatever we need to do to play our best. And if we play our best, we should win.”
UMaine went on to beat Southern Connecticuit State on Saturday by a score of 13-12. Statistics were not available at time of press.
UMaine will travel to Connecticut one more time to take on the Central Connecticut State University Blue Devils April 13. Game time for that contest is scheduled for 7 p.m.